Covering material



Jan. 3, 1939. M. CROCE 2,142,181

COVERING MATERIAL Filed Dec. 1, 1936 INVENTOR M04545 620:5.

'W f- F & 5'

ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COVERINGMATERIAL Application December 1, 1936, Serial No. 113,578

2 Claims.

This invention relates to covering materials, particularly to coveringelements such as shingles and shingle strips made from sheet roofingmaterial.

The object of this invention is to provide asphalt shingle elementswhich, when laid in the usual way, will produce a close simulation toshingle roofs of split or weathered wood shingles, being an article much desired by the trade because of the soft and harmonious effect whichsuch roofs naturally possess. Shingled elements of this character havealready been produced by processes involving the use of molds ordie-pressing apparatus which impress the body or base of the shinglewith creases on its exposed surface made to imitate closely the grain ofwood. When,

however, such methods are attempted to be employed on the well-knownasphalt shingle, which is surfaced with mineral grit, the visual effectis not a good simulation of the real article. Faithful copying of thetexture of a split or weathered shingle, as viewed close at hand anddone by molding or die-pressing the grit surface, gives a very differentand unsatisfactory effect when the shingles are in place on the roof andviewed from the normal distance.

I have extensively experimented with the optical effects of thesegrit-surfaced asphalt shingles to the end of creating the opticalillusion that is necessary to give the appearance of wood shingles whenthe shingles are in place on the roof and viewed in the normal way andfrom the normal angle. I have found that the illusion can be bestproduced, and that an excellent imitation is created, by the use of aplurality of differently or randomly dimensioned curvilinear stripes ofgritsurfaced asphalt superposed or overlaid upon the previouslygrit-surfaced felt base of the shingle element and disposed insubstantially vertical arrangement across the whole exposed surface ofthe shingle, such stripes being of varying or random width from end toend and much wider than the natural ridges in the actual split shingle,and of varying or random degrees of separation from each other, andsufficiently elevated above the grit-surfaced felt base to create atleast some shadow effect on the spaces intervening between the stripes,as will be hereinafter more particularly described.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 illustrates a roofing strip embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows a modified embodiment of th invention.

In Figure 1 is illustrated a shingle strip l of the type having tabs 3separated by cut-outs 4 upon the portion to be exposed of the shingle in5 an assembly of shingles in courses in overlapping arrangement. Uponeach tab, and in the particular embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 forsubstantially the portion of the width of the shingle which iscoextensive with the cut-outs, are 10 formed stripes 6 extending in thedirection transversely to the coursewise edge 8 of the shingle. Thestripes 6 are in spaced relation to each other in the coursewisedirection to leave exposed between the stripes a surface 9 of theshingle l. 15 In the particular embodiment illustrated the surface 9 maybe produced, as in ordinary roofing shingles, by binding upon the baseof saturated felt II by means of adhesive coating 12 a surfacing layerl3 of granular material. The stripes 20 6 are formed by applying overlaystripes of asphalt M to which adheres the surfacing of granular material16, as in Figure 2. Upon the underside of the base sheet may be applieda protective coating of asphalt I8. 25

While in Figure 1 the stripes 6 are shown as extending from a lowercoursewise edge 8 of the tab to substantially the inner line of thecutouts 4, in order to leave the portion of the shingle strip which isto be overlapped by a superadjacent shingle free of the separated raisedportions lying thereunder, in some cases it may be preferable ordesirable that the stripes shall extend upon the area of the shingle tobe overlapped by a superadjacent shingle. This extension of the stripesmay be merely sufficient to raise the edge of the overlapping shingle ormay, if desired, be carried across the full dimension of the shingletransverse to the coursewise dimension. In Figure 3 is shown anindividual shingle in which the stripes extend fully across thedimension thereof transverse to the coursewise dimension. All suchvariations are within the scope of the invention. I have found that thebest simulation of split or weathered wood shingles can be obtained bythe use of the overlay stripes as above stated all or most of whichextend in curvilinear directions .and with irregular outlines so thateach differs in width from most or many of the others and also varies inits own width from end to end, and the spaces between arecorrespondingly nonuniform with each other and individually nonregular.As indicated in the drawing, the total area of elevated or appliedstripes preferably approximates the total area of the inters'pacesbetween them. Notwithstanding that the ribs or ridges found on naturalsplit wood shingles are commonly A" to high and rather close together,these overlaid grit-surfaced stripes do not require to be more than aquarter or a third of this height in order to perfect the illusion. Atthis height they are sufllcient to cast shadows on the margins of theinterspaces which tend to accentuate the irregularity of their widths.They must, however, be broader than the natural ridges, each being fromA," or to even 2" in its average width. The grit mineral with which theyare surfaced may be and preferably is of a difierent color from the gritexposed in the interspaces, either lighter or darker. Thiscolor-contrast thus produced is also accentuated by the shadow eifectsproduced by the "overlay stripes, thereby improving the realisticeiiect.

Having thus described my invention I new claim:

1. In an asphalt shingle element, means for simulating the grain ofsplit or weathered wood shingles, comprising in combination anasphaltimpregnated felt base surfaced with applied grit adherentthereto, and a plurality of differentlydimensioned, curvilinear,grit-surfaced stripes formed as overlays on said base in substantiallyvertical arrangement and across the full exposed width thereof, each ofsaid stripes being of varying width from end to end and of varyingdegrees of separation from the adjacent stripes and of a differentcolor-effect from the spaces intervening between them, said stripes alsohaving a substantial elevation from said base sumcient to accentuate, bytheir shadows, the color contrast between said stripes and saidintervening spaces and having a substantially greater average width thanthe ridges formed in natural split wood shingles.

2. In an asphalt shingle element, means for simulating the grain ofsplit or weathered wood shingles, comprising in combination anasphaltimpregnated felt base surfaced with applied grit adherentthereto, and a plurality of dili'erentlydimensioned, curvilinear,grit-surfaced stripes formed as overlays on said grit-surfaced base insubstantially vertical arrangement and across the full exposed widththereof, each of said stripes being of varying width from end to end andof varying degrees of separation from the adjacent stripes, said stripesalso having a substantial elevation from said base suflicient to producea shadow contrast between them and said intervening spaces and having asubstantially greater average width than the ridges formed in naturalsplit wood shingles.

MICHELE CROCE.

